Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2006, having been printed and circulated were signed as a correct record.

            It was confirmed that no public questions had been received.

         The Board considered the Minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board and Executive Board Sub Committee relevant to the Healthy Halton Policy & Performance Board.

         The Board discussed the Healthy Eating Strategy and it was noted that this would be distributed to the Topic Group members in the near future. In addition it was noted that further information would be sought from North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust on the future and operation of the shuttle service.

     RESOLVED: That the minutes be received.

            The Board received a presentation on the Young Carers Project delivered by HITS by Mr D. Atkinson. The presentation outlined:

§         what HITS was;

§         values by which HITS plans and delivers services;

§         the projects currently delivered by HITS

§         the definition of a young carer;

§         how it affects young people;

§         the number of young carers in the Borough as taken from the 2001 census;

§         what support was available for young carers; and

§         the future for HITS.

The Board had a thorough discussion on the impact being a carer could have on young people, the difficulty in identifying carers within the Borough and linkages to Council Departments, other agencies and organisations.

RESOLVED: That the report be endorsed.

            The Board received the draft Service Plans for the period 2007-2010 from:

• Adults of Working Age;
• Health & Partnerships; and
• Older People’s Services.

RESOLVED: That the reports be noted.

(NB: Councillor Horabin declared a personal interest in the following item due to working at the Independent Learning Centre. Councillor Loftus declared a personal interest in the following item due to working at Riverside College who hold classes at the Independent Learning Centre. Councillor Lloyd Jones declared a personal interest in the following item due to her husband being a Non-Executive Director of Halton and St. Helen’s Primary Care Trust).

            The Board received the draft Restrictive Physical Interventions Policy and Procedure between the Council’s Health & Community Directorate and the Primary Care Trust (PCT) for Adults with Learning Difficulties.

            The draft policy had been developed to formalise current practises within health and social care for adults with learning difficulties and therefore would be a joint policy between the Council and the PCT.

            Stakeholder consultation had taken place on the draft, including the Council and the PCT staff working with this client group, service users and carers who may be affected and a number of other agencies as detailed within the report.

            RESOLVED: That the draft Restrictive Physical Interventions Joint Policy and Procedure be noted.

            The Board received a presentation on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) from Mr L. Smith. The presentation outlined:

• why the Act was needed and who it affects;
• the principles of the Act;
• how capability would be assessed;
• what changes does the MCA introduced; and
• the process being adopted by Halton.

The MCA provided a statutory framework to empower and protect vulnerable people who cannot make their own decisions, and would allow people to plan ahead to a time when they might lack the capacity.

Arising from the discussion reference was made to the skills and qualifications which would be needed to undertake advocacy work and whether this would need to be a specialised role. In addition how the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) service would operate and the importance of putting in place the necessary policies and procedures were noted.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

The Board was reminded that Standing Order 51 of the Council’s Constitution stated that meetings should not continue beyond 9.00 pm.

 RESOLVED: That Standing Order 51 be waived for 10 minutes.

            The Board received a report which sought to develop a work programme of topics for 2007/8. The need to chose topics for which reviews could be completed within the allocated time and whether the Council could gather enough relevant information were noted.

            RESOLVED: That initial suggestions for topics be submitted to the next meeting of the Board.